Buoys was co-produced and mixed with frequent collaborator Rusty Santos in Lennox's adopted home of Lisbon. It's his sixth solo album as Panda Bear, and the follow-up to 2015's Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper. It balances a "deep layer of experimentation" with "hyper-modern production," the label says, while striving towards something that "feels familiar to a young person’s ears."